Sam Woods
by not when she owes me a dance
Summary: "I can spare you." His creased eyebrows lightens as his voice lowers into a croon. "What?" "Join me." He says. "No." He breathe out a smile. "You won't have a choice. You have a heart."


Staring at the back of her, her dark brunette hair that was styled up in a common ponytail waves slightly whenever she shifts from washing some cups in the sink, to placing them in the cupboard a step away to her right. Cheerless crept its way through my body and my eyes that fell down to the surface of the counter. Responsibility. I wasn't hers.

She told me, on her first day of her job, she's met someone friendly, her name, Madelyn. Somewhat a few years later, both of them were paired up again to confront some...lets say; loathsome, reckless mens that needs to get shot in the face. At least that was what they were expecting. But before that day came, she was reassigned on another task, leaving Madelyn with a substitute. I guess now it's the time to bring in that overused one-liner; that was the day things changed. Mad disappeared, returned a couple of days later, wouldn't say a thing about what happened, using forgetfulness to push the questions aside. Co-workers, boss, friends, all took turns, lined up in a queue to try and get her to say something, anything. Not more than a week has past when she disappeared again, came back, disappeared, and came back. It continued to be that way and the times when she couldn't be found anywhere on the map has begun extending after each. From some hours, to a whole day, to a few days, to eventually, she was gone for good. A month later after that day where no one has the slightest knowledge of what happened in there because the substitute was injured and unable to go in that warehouse with her, leaving her the only person who knew what went on in that abandoned structure. Then eight years have gone by, questions remains unanswered.

* * *

Some would say the thing he does is insane, some would considered as out of this world, surreal, impossible, but it was just like any regular return from a two day vacation in a foreign country for Nicholas Fury. On that exact same day of his return, home sweet home was just a large gate and some metal fences away, he found a kid misplaced in front of them.

Took in, trying to find out who forgot their kid at a building in the middle of nowhere, taking a picture and analyzing her face didn't help, no records of any place she's been, no hospital records, no nothing.

Lights shone into the dim room, then it left when the door was closed. "Anything?" Fury asked the man that entered, vision still on the window that showed the room the child and the doctor was in.

"No, sir."

Nicholas Fury hesitated deeply, his head rotated, showing the suited man half of his face as he asked again. "How many options do we have left?"

"One."

Fury blinked his eye back ahead at that one option that was already in process, the doctor pricked a needle into the kids upper arm. Her eyelids opened when the tube begun to color with red. They stayed gaping at the circle light from above, confusion then slowly filled her face while she narrowed her stare over to the doctor who had a smile that would make anyone feel calm...or so he thought. She panicky slapped the doctors steady hands away and leapt off the metal bed, affecting Fury to race towards the door, slamming in the code without looking because his eye was stuck on what was happening in there.

"Code blue. We need Team C in here now!" Phil Coulson ordered into his earpiece eagerly.

Her breaths heaving as she glanced around the room she's never been in before, feeling something sticking inside her skin. Insanity spread through her when she saw the needle. She pulled out the strange-to-her weapon and shot her eyes at the doctor who was spilling out words to try and pour out her frightened fire with his hands up to assure her he means no harm. But that drop of blood on his elastic gloves made her dart the weird weapon at the doctors chest to defend herself just as Fury got into the room, she didn't use any hands. The Director instantly realise she was something else, a chill ran down his spine. But that thought was the last thing he's to think about for now, because there was a child killer going for the surgery blades cabinet.

* * *

"Do you remember how you got here?" The woman crooned, sitting on a small red chair designed for children.

The child shook her head, the most repeated question hasn't caught her off guard from continuing to color in the book.

"What's your name?" The woman then asked.

The childs dark brown eyes rolled over to her. "I don't know." She says, and drops her head down at the coloring book again. The young woman's lips pressed into a line.

"I'm Julia." She introduces herself in another softly stretched smile. The child unconcernedly glances at her and back at the crayons in her hands once more.

Meanwhile the door slid wide open and Nick Fury marched in.

Julia stood up from the miniature chair and table set. "Director." She greets, he nod, and she observes as he paces up to the kid.

Fury crouched down beside the child, his mouth opened but not a word came out. He wanted to say her name but only came to realization that they didn't know it.  
"Hey," He smiled instead, the child eyed him and back at the book. "we got a lot of toys in a different room. I can take you there."

The child remained unimpressed as she finishes off coloring the last tree.

"Where are you taking her?" Julia asked curiously.

"The black room, Agent Morgan." replied Nick as he stood up.

"But that's-. No, she's a kid." She protests.

"_She_, needs eyes on her, she needs the training, she needs compliance."

"She needs a home. Not bullets, punches thrown at her face."

"She possesses an incredible source. It's so rare it's scary, and it'll grow stronger, and by the time it does, we won't be able to hold it down. Do you know what telekinetics are capable of?"

"If someone raises her good, the results might be positive."

"Are you sure, Agent? Are you positive that the adoptive family can give her right morals? Cause I think the only way for you to be positive is if you drop out and raise her yourself. " Fury snapped.

"No, I didn't mean-"

"Enough. We need to get her into the program, I am not letting this child loose on the planet."

"Or more like not letting this _gain_ to S.H.I.E.L.D loose in the world."

Fury became wordless. The woman was right, half of his decisions were made to be that way because it would be an achievement to S.H.I.E.L.D, to have an indifferent agent.

"Look, we don't know anything about her gifts, we don't know will it even hurt anyone." Agent Morgan broke the silence.

"You're right, we don't know anything about it except that it's dangerous, and we don't know how far it can go-"

"For crying out loud, she's no more than seven, Fury!"

"And she won't be six forever-"

"Director Fury!" Agent Coulson rushed into the room with a document.

"What is it?"

"You won't believe this, boss." He said breathlessly, handing the file over.

Fury didn't hesitate to flip it open once he got it. His scanning vision stopped at once when he got to the blood match, he was entirely shocked. The birth mother, was Madelyn.

Time within the passing four months, they finally began seeing the resemblance. The kid surprisingly held another ability when she influenced a liquid element, the identical one the lost agent was able power as well.

Doubtlessly, the kid grew on Julia. It pushed her into making a pretty tough decision. To drop out of the occupation she loves, and to bring forth a responsibility on her shoulders that wasn't hers to welcome. The child of course, growing, learning and understanding the things that went on, it's led her to feel guilty to drag Julia to sacrifice a part of her life at such a young age. And while the now-grown child feels horrible about the former agents choice, the agent felt horrible for agreeing to be transferred on another project, because maybe if she had gone with her best friend that day to the warehouse, things wouldn't have been this way. Needless to say, everyone's in silent denial, never said anything out loud, but always knew.

"Are you finished with that?" Julia made me lose the stare war that was between the counter tables surface and I.

I scooped up the remaining corn flakes in the bowl-puddle of milk. "Almost."

_"Stark!"_ The tiny TV that I once wanted it to be placed on a small table in the corner of this light blue kitchen whereas Jule wanted it to be on top of the counter by the fridge spoke. That disagreement debate didn't last very long two years ago though. I turned my head towards the fridge.

No surprise here, true to what the reporter called out, it was none other than Tony Stark, striding out of his new building. Mobs of interviewers surrounded him, viciously flashing their cameras and almost blinding him with their stuck-out microphones.

_"Anthony, when will the world get to see your-"_

Tony Stark lifted up a hand, an inch away from the guys face, his other hand was grasping firmly onto his cup of coffee.  
_"Tony." _he corrects.  
_"Tonight, you will be able to see Stark Tower become a beacon of of self sustaining clean energy."_ he confidently announces, knowing what the reporter wanted to ask.

Julia unknowingly stepped in front of the live feed, blocking my view of it.  
"Sue asked me if I can take her shift and overtime tonight, just ought to let you know. Are you going to be fine? I'm not sure I want you to be all alone by yourself till god knows whatever time I finish work." She wanted my thoughts, her hands rubbing in and out of the hand towel.

"I'll be fine." I assured, precisely the same time, the toast sprung up, she went over, unveiling the TV again.

_"Enough questions for now."_ Tony Stark continues.  
_"Feel free to take a tour in the tower, after all, it is the coolest building here in-" _Stark got interrupted by a tall woman with strawberry blonde hair. She stood in, gave his sleeve a pull, whispering into his ear as she pointed at her watch.  
_"As I was saying, coolest building in New York."_ He finishes quickly, Miss Potts rolled her eyes and dragged him into the car.

Julia took a big bite of her toast, it crunched. "Do you need a ride?"

"Three years you've been asking that." I admit I kept count.

"Right, I forgot. Sam's grown and independent now." she tease, my eyes rolled a bit with a tint of grin on my cheeks. I wasn't angry with her, never, but I would wish she can let go of the responsibility now and do what she liked, whatever she pleases without any mothers concern getting in the way. Thus, this is why I do everything by myself, if I need to go somewhere; public transportation. If I need extra cash; a part time job.  
"I can't believe it's been ten years, time flies by so fast." She sighed gloomily, just now remembering to spread some butter on the bitten toast.

"You know, like you said; it's been ten years. I'm fine with no one watching over me twenty-four seven." I stood up from the stool and strode over to the sink, dropping the bowl and spoon into it. "Why don't you go back to-"

"Because, I already have a job that I enjoy now, I don't need to go back to that one." She cut me off.

"It was more of a suggestion than question." I snapped playfully in a light tone.

"Anyway, do you need a ride?" She sounds annoyed, her reason being, this was the third time I've brought it up this week.

"Repeating, no." I murmur, done on the bowl and spoon, I wiped it dry.


End file.
